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Doctors and scientists are finding new ways to use something that used to be thrown in the garbage every time a baby was born.

The placenta, which provides nourishment for a fetus while it is still in the womb, has uses after a child has been born. Mothers can now donate placenta tissue, something that used to be an afterthought but actually has about 200 medical uses.

Kathy Zorn, spokeswoman for Regeneration Biologics Inc., a group looking to raise awareness for placenta donation, said most mothers aren’t aware the placenta is a viable organ-donation option. She said doctors only recently discovered how to make a placenta viable outside the womb.

Doctors still can’t use placenta tissue from vaginal births, but amniotic tissue from placentas extracted during a cesarean section can be used to repair damaged eyes, wrap nerves, make tendon repairs, help with scarring and reduce inflammation for hundreds of patients.

“Many mothers just don’t understand it,” Zorn said. “The placenta goes from being delivered, to the trashcan. So the question is why wouldn’t you do it?”

Patricia Atchley, a local mother of three, said placenta donation wasn’t something that was discussed during the birth of her first two children, who are 6 and 2 years old. The birth of her third child less than a year ago was the first time anyone mentioned placenta donation to her.

“I wanted to be a part of the donation program,” she said. “I enjoy science and I know there are a lot of scientific things involved in this process. People study the tissue and use the tissue to help others and save lives.”

Zorn spent most of April, which is Donate Life Month — a month dedicated highlighting organ and tissue donation — raising awareness for placenta donation.

Not all mothers can donate placenta after giving birth. Before the placenta is deemed viable, blood has to be drawn and screened for autoimmune diseases.

“The more we educate people, the more eager they are to do it,” Zorn said. “It’s the same thing with tissue donation after death. When we explain it to people, how good it is and how wonderful it is to save people’s lives, they’ll do it.”

One placenta donation is good for almost 100 eye repairs, Zorn said. Regeneration Biologics started looking into placenta donation about 15 years ago and has a strong presence inside Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.

Regeneration Biologics usually relies on OB/GYNs at TMH to educate mothers on placenta donation during prenatal visits.

“We started the program here and it has gone all over the state of Florida and it has done very well,” Zorn said. “We use the model we started at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.”

Atchley said as long as she’s a candidate — and if she keeps having children — she’ll continue considering placenta donation.

“I’ll definitely do it,” she said. “If I’m eligible, for sure.”

“The tissue is used in so many different ways. It was very easy, there was just an extra little form to sign and they had to collect a little blood,” she said. “I was already hooked up to several different things so it was an easy process.”